Thanksgiving is a holiday steeped in Americana, and what captures that better than the classic cover illustrations of The Saturday Evening Post? Illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, who was born in Germany, studied art in Paris and opened an art studio with his brother in Chicago, created some of the magazine’s most famous holiday covers, including the annual New Year Baby.
A study for “Peeling Apples,” his Thanksgiving-themed illustration for the cover of the Nov. 28, 1925, issue, sold for $13,200 at an auction by Bruneau & Co. Leyendecker’s original art is quite valuable; in 2021, his painting for “Beatup Boy, Football Hero,” which graced the Nov. 21, 1914, The Saturday Evening Post cover, sold for a record $4.1 million.
The “Peeling Apples” study is clearly unfinished, with visible grid lines and parts left without paint, but it still has appeal. The unfinished spots provide a glimpse of the work that goes into the illustration. Like a Thanksgiving meal, it looks like a labor of love.